CyberPower PR3000ELCDRT2U review

CyberPower’s PR3000 business UPS may be a compact 2U rack-mount unit, but we’d advise caution if you choose to mount it vertically on the floor on its sturdy plastic feet: it weighs a monstrous 40kg. It’s safer in a rack cabinet, and the price includes a set of sturdy rails for this. The backlit LCD display can be rotated to suit either position, and you get a 3000VA power rating, plenty to protect critical servers and their associated networking equipment.

CyberPower uses line-interactive technology for most of its business models. This holds the middle ground between low-cost offline and expensive online models, and is good for environments where voltage fluctuations are more common than power cuts.

The PR3000 uses an IEC C20 15A input, with a power cable included. Output options are extensive, with nine IEC 10A sockets and a larger 15A socket. Six of the 10A sockets can be programmed to shut down first in a blackout to preserve battery power for the other three, which are separated out for use with critical systems.

The PowerPanel Business Edition (PBE) software handles monitoring and system shutdown services. An agent runs on the system with a USB connection to the UPS. This provides local monitoring, and in a prolonged power failure sends graceful shutdown commands to all systems running the client component.

The BPE agent web console gives detailed information about the battery, power status and input supply. You can set thresholds for high and low power plus battery capacity, and the low priority sockets can be programmed from here.

The client has its own web interface, into which you enter the IP address of the agent system. It auto-connects over an encrypted link and takes its shutdown instructions from the central system. BPE offers far better value than APC’s SmartUPS software: CyberPower doesn’t charge for extra licenses, so it can be installed on any number of client systems.

These days, SMBs really need to think like enterprises and protect their critical systems from power problems. With CyberPower’s mighty PR3000 available for less than £600, they really have no excuse not to.